Sticks and Stones
by Mighty ANT
Summary: One shot. 2012 Universe. The Turtles weren't as indestructible as April had thought. /Relationship can be taken as romantic or platonic/


**_Sticks and Stones_**

_A/N: I saw the first Ninja Turtles episode. My mind was blown. _

_Donatello was my favorite :D_

_And rest assured, there will probably be a lot more of these in the near future. I apologize in advance. _

_Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (c) Mirage/ Nickelodeon _

* * *

_11:34 _blinked in cheerful neon green from the LED screen of the kitchen's alarm clock, spilling onto the floorboards as April did her best (_worst_) ninja impression to sneak into the room. The wood beneath her sock-clad feet creaked audibly, and she winced as the sound echoed through her aunt's home. When her relative didn't come barging in with a bat the teen decided that she hadn't been woken and continued toward the refrigerator.

She knew that contained within the frigid icebox rested her aunt's specialty—coconut cream pie, of which April wasn't supposed to have until after lunch the following day. And that wasn't going to happen.

All other thoughts banished from her mind save one steady mantra(_must get pie, don't wake up Auntie, must get pie, don't wake up Auntie) _and her fingers were centimeters away from the fridge's handle when she heard the window against the far wall open.

The sane part of her brain knew that such a thing was impossible; her aunt's apartment was on the tenth floor, and the fire escape was on the other side of the building, so technically, no one was supposed to be able to get up there. It did not mean that they didn't anyway.

"Hey, April," a familiar voice sighed, and she turned to meet the tired eyes of a turtle crouched on the windowsill outside. Allowing the racing of her heart to settle, the redhead smiled, shuffling forward.

"Hi, Donnie." Her brow furrowed for an instant—usually when her friend checked on her (as he did almost every night, not that he ever told her or let her see him half the time) he was always silent. He could get in and out of the apartment without making a sound, not from the window, the floor, or her bedroom's super creaky door. And the fact that he hadn't come inside either, as she had told him and his brothers countless times that they could, bothered her as well.

"Why don't you get outta the cold, doc?" she asked, reverting to the nickname she had given him a few days ago when he had taken apart her aunt's coffee maker and put it back together, fully functional.

The beginning tendrils of fear began slithered into her chest when the ninja turtle hesitated, a twinge of anxiety in his own normally placid features. "Ah…well…you see…I don't think that would be the best—"

"Donatello, get in here right now," April demanded sharply, not willing to admit how his pitifully formed excuses made her heart clench. To his credit, Donnie didn't bother to argue, instead leaping down from the window sill, if a bit more carefully than usual, and stepping back in the shadows, only the outline of his _bō_ and glistening eyes of his cowl visible against the darkness.

April's brow furrowed. "What are you doing, Donnie? My aunt's asleep, and nothing short of an atom bomb dropping on the block would wake her up." She could tell by a slight movement that Donatello was fingering his staff, a nervous tick of his. He didn't speak. Once more, fear as savage as the one that had claimed her when she had been kidnapped raged in her chest and April wavered. "Donnie? Did something happen?"

A sigh, disconcerting as it seemed to come out of nowhere, was her answer. "Well…yeah. You could say that." Standing taller, Donatello stepped out of the shadows _favoring his right side_.

April gasped audibly, her fear not dissipating as Donatello limped heavily, taking a massive amount of exertion to move forward five steps. She quickly pulled out a chair from the kitchen table, her friend instantly collapsing into it. In the low light, she could make out the blackish blue bruises trailing down most of the left side of his body. "What can I do?" she whispered, wanting to help but not knowing how.

"Ice pack," he muttered through gritted teeth, and as she rushed back to the refrigerator she realized how much self-control it must have taken for him to speak normally with her just minutes before.

Returning to her friend's side with two ice packs in hand, she handed one to Donatello and he placed it on his thigh, just a bit above his knee, and relaxed slightly at the relieving coolness. Fiddling with the ice pack in her owns hands; April felt the same icy, slithering fear encase her insides. "What happened to you?" she finally asked, pulling up a chair so she could sit beside her friend. Donatello was avoiding her gaze again.

"There were some thugs…they'd cornered a couple of kids." He shrugged once, wincing as he moved a sore muscle. His voice continued more softly. "They were easy enough to beat…but, ah, the kids weren't exactly…grateful." April laid what she hoped was a comforting hand on his muscled arm, taking care to be gentle, and the young ninja took this as incentive to continue. "I was a bit disoriented. They'd thrown something at my head—I ran, b-because I didn't want to hurt them, but a car clipped me." He shrugged again, with one shoulder this time. "I came here because I wanted to make sure you were okay." Donatello glanced up at her with an anxious expression as his tale ended, as if expecting her to...to… to do something. _To be afraid of him,_ April realized belatedly.

And then she punched him on the shoulder.

"OW!" Donatello shrieked girlishly, only to be stifled (mainly by his own shock) when April threw her arms around him in a bear hug. Eyes impossibly wide, he looked down at the redhead whose face was buried against his plastron, arms hovering over her, unsure of what to do, before he carefully (oh, oh so carefully) wrapped them around her slender form.

"You're an idiot," she said, voice coming out muffled, and the turtle managed a melodramatic gasp, hiding a grimace as he jostled a few cracked ribs.

"Your words wound me," he chuckled breathlessly, reluctantly releasing April as she pulled away. He seemed surprised by the tears glistening in the corner of her eyes, ones that she worked to furiously wipe away to no avail.

"Do the others know you were hurt?" she finally asked, returning the ice pack—which had fallen to the floor when she had hugged him (hugged him? _Her?) –_to its rightful place on his bruised thigh. Donatello made a noncommittal noise that she took for a "no". Rolling her eyes, April stood and strolled over to the phone and pulled it from its cradle, fingers hovering over the keys, and sent her friend a questioning look, complete with raised eyebrow. "Do you guys have a phone in your super-secret sewer lair?"

"Ah…no."

"Crud," April muttered, setting the telephone on the counter top before plopping back into her chair, "Nixing that idea, then." She glanced back up at Donatello's beaten form, knowing that there was no way he could get to a manhole near enough to his home in his current condition. And then genius struck.

"Then do you know what this means?" April queried eagerly, popping back out of her seat. Donatello watched her with wide eyes, and he wordlessly shook his head. "It _means_ sleepover!"

She watched in silent bemusement as the turtle's face seemed to darken, abruptly realizing that he was blushing. "Um, are you sure—?"

"Course I'm sure!" April interrupted; waving his embarrassment away like one would a pesky fly. "You're the one who got himself stuck here. Your brothers will wonder where you are and come here looking for you—_they_ can help you get back."

Donatello still looked unsure, but he nodded slowly. "Alright, where…where will I be sleeping then?"

April grinned innocently, carefully pulling her friend to his feet. "My room! Duh!"

.

"I'll stay up," Donatello had said forcefully, sitting cross-legged on his sleeping bag, bandaged arms folded in a way that bordered on petulant. Despite her friend's iron conviction, he had fallen asleep practically minutes after making his proclamation, leaning back against her bed frame, his battered frame limp.

April had stayed awake for nearly an hour after that, typing away on her computer until the other turtles arrived, hopping through her purposely open window without a sound. They had snickered and poked fun at their bruised brother for sleeping in a girl's room, awoken as soon as they had arrived, but beneath their teasing, April clearly saw relief in every one of their eyes.

Leonardo thanked her personally as Raphael helped their injured brother to his feet, Mikey hugged her, his words so quick that they had mashed together into one nearly undecipherable mess (_'thankyouthankyouthankyou')_, while Donatello managed a weak smile and a wave before being carted outside. It was safe to say that after that, none of the other turtles, especially Donnie, hesitated in visiting her again. And April was perfectly fine with it—even though when they did turn up, they were usually black and blue.


End file.
